10 of Myanmar's major rebel groups threw their support behind the country's anti-coup movement Saturday, fanning fears that a broader conflict could erupt in a country long plagued by fighting between the military and the ethnic armies.Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power on 1 February, triggering an uprising that the junta has sought to quell with deadly crackdowns.According to a local monitoring group, more than 550 peop

A sleepy village in remote northern Thailand became a hub of activity this week when it received refugees fleeing Myanmar – a sight that brought back vivid memories for its ethnic Karen residents.Hkara, 70, said she had spent roughly 30 years crisscrossing the Salween river, which marks the frontier, to flee military attacks on ethnic rebel armies in Myanmar's eastern Karen state.She decided to settle in the Thai village of Mae Sam Laep village two decades ago – a safer bet than Myanmar,

30 cases of rare blood clotting have been recorded in Britain among more than 18 million people who have had the AstraZeneca vaccination, the national medicines regulator said Friday."The benefits of the vaccines against COVID-19 continue to outweigh any risks," the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said, urging the public to keep taking the vaccine.Up to 24 March, 22 reports of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and eight of other thrombosis events wit

On a Wednesday evening in early March, Angelo Karlo Guillen, Filipino human rights lawyer headed home after a long day at his office in Iloilo, a city renowned for its well-preserved Spanish-era homes in the central Philippine island of Panay.As he walked to his residence, two men wearing ski masks appeared and started attacking him.The assailants took his backpack, which contained his laptop and court case files, but left his wallet and smartphone untouched, according to the police report.

ASEAN, and Thailand in particular, have a responsibility to convince Myanmar's generals to change course, or risk the grouping losing all credibility, says former Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya.Kasit, who was foreign minister between 2008 and 2011 – during Myanmar's transition to a hybrid form of democracy – told an Asian media. "10 years ago, we were midwives to democracy (in Myanmar) and now it has been snatched away so we all have the obligation, Thailand in pa

The coronavirus pandemic has worsened long-standing inequalities around the world, which left unaddressed could undermine economic stability and lead to unrest, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday.Poorest families have been hit particularly hard, and the damage to education could last for years, the International Monetary Fund said in a report released ahead of next week's Spring meetings.The findings show that the warnings fund economists sounded last year have come

Myanmar's ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been accused of breaking a colonial-era official secrets law, her lawyer said, as Britain ramped up sanctions against the junta and the United Nations (UN) Security Council condemned the deaths of hundreds of civilians.The newly unveiled charge came amid growing international outrage over the 1 February coup and the military's subsequent clampdown on protesters that has left at least 535 people dead.After two days of back-and-for

China has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to take the lead in respecting the conclusions of scientists, a day after the international body's director-general faulted the findings of a mission to study the origins of COVID-19 in China."We need to respect science and respect the opinions and the conclusions reached by scientists," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told a daily briefing in Beijing on Wednesday (31 March).

China on Wednesday (31 March) said it wanted a "democratic transition" in military-ruled Myanmar, but ruled out sanctions at a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting."China hopes that Myanmar will restore peace, stability and constitutional order as early as possible and continue to steadily advance democratic transition," Ambassador Zhang Jun told the closed-door meeting, according to a statement."Maintaining peace and stability in Myanmar is in the co

An armed woman shot dead at Indonesia's national police headquarters Wednesday was an Islamic State (IS) sympathiser, authorities said, citing social media posts she made shortly before the fatal gun battle.Indonesia has been on high alert in recent days after two suicide bombers - alleged members of a pro-IS extremist group - blew themselves up at a church in Makassar city on Sulawesi island, wounding about 20 people.Police outposts have been frequent targets of Indonesian extremists in